Closure for jars, bottles, and other receptacles



A. AND H. INGRAM. CLOSURE FOR JARS, BOTTLES, AND OTHER RECEPTACLES.

APPlICATlON FILED JULY 5,-1917.

1,353,396.- Patentedsept- 21,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- R) h mm 5 nuewtozg #0750 A a/PAM 62m A a/M M A. AND H. INGRAMQ CLOSURE FOR JARS, BOTTLES, AND OTHER RECEPTACLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. I917.

0 V II WIT/75,88

3 9 ml n In N60 N 19% ..W .1 d Y .ALFRED INGRAM AN'D cries.

HARRY INGRAM, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO INGRAMS INCORPORATED, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A. CORIEORATION OF NEW roam.

Application filed July 5,

T all'whom it may concern: I Be it known that we, ALFRED INGRAM and -HARRY INGRAM, citizens of the United States,

' receptacle may and residents of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closures for Jars, Bottles, and other Recep tacles, of which the following is a specification.

The invention pertains more particularly to the art of hermetically sealing tumblers, jars, bottles and other receptacles by means of applied caps and gaskets held in sealing position by atmospheric pressure or by what is commonly known as the vacuum sealing process.

The invention involves a novel construction and combination of cap and gasket with the receptacle and also a cap of flexible material, exemplified by pyroxylin, as, for illustration, sheet celluloid, which is flexible.

The difliculties incident to the effectual sealing by atmospheric pressure of tumblers, jars and the like are too well understood to require specific mention.

The purpose of our invention is to provide a closure whose seal may be maintained by ordinary atmospheric pressure, and a further purpose of the invention is to provide a cap which will not contaminate the contents of the vessel and be capable of resisting saline products and also the acids commonly found in food products, such as in tomatoes, pickles, vinegar and the like, so that the cap itself shall not be detrimental to the contents of the receptacle but in every way, cleanly, non-corrosive and wholesome.

' e preferably make the caps of this invention of odorless pyroxylin material, known as celluloid and by other commercial names, and, by preference, the sheets of this material from which we produce the caps are from about five to twenty-five onethousandths of an inch in thickness, according to the diameter of the cap, and transparent, so that the top of the contents of the be inspected without breakin the seal.

he preferred form of cap is one represented by a flat disk having a depending skirt portion which, at least in part, extends downwardly on converging lines, and within the outer edge portions of the cap, whereat Specification of Letters Patent.

CLOSURE FOR JABS, BOTTLES, AND OTHER RECEPTACLES.

Patented Sept.21, 1920.

1917. Serial No. 178,595.

an annular recess is formed, we place a special gasket having, by preference, inner and outer parallel Walls, a substantially fiat upper edge and a downwardly tapered lower edge, said lower edge tapering downwardly and inwardly on converging lines or downwardly and outwardly on diverging lines, as may be preferred. The annular recess in the oliliter edges of the cap are adapted to receive t e bind the same against the upper side edges of the receptacle.' We cut the gaskets from a tube of packing material, as rubber, in the shape of rings or bands, off one edge of the ring or band to afford the beveled lower edge of the gasket, and primarily this beveled edge is at the outer side of the ring or band, but we have found advantage in turning the rings or bands inside out before applying them to the caps, so that the beveled lower edge of the gasket will incline downwardly and outwardly and stand in the path of the edges of the receptacle upon which the cap and gasket are to be applied. The cap is initially of greater diameter in its upper part than the diameter of the mouth-portion of the receptacle upon which the cap is to be applied, so that the top of the cap may engage the lip of the receptacle, with the gasket engaging the side of the receptacle around the mouth thereof. The gasket is thicker in its upper portion than in its lower portion, and the edge portion of the cap, including the depending flange, become deformed on the depression of the top portion of the cap, the edge portions of the cap being drawn inwardly against the upper portion of the gasket and the flange or cap being drawn ket, the whole resulting in the gasket being compressed vertically and laterally and in becoming thickened against the upper side wall of the receptacle, in which position the gasket is held by the cap and constitutes an eflicient seal conforming to any irregularities, wave-lines or the like which may exist along the rim of the receptacle. The novel features of the present invention, aside from the use of the sheet material in the construction of the cap itself, construction of the depending flange of the gasket and, under the sealing act1on,.

and in doing so turn and said gasket skirt portion ofthe V upwardly against the gasreside in the form and the present construction resulting in a more eflicient action than has heretofore been attained in closures known to us. Our invention also provides a novel construction in that the closure carries means connected with the gasket for wholly or in part dislodging the same from the sealing zone,

, thereby breaking the seal and facilitating the removal of the cap from the receptacle.

The present invention embraces further improvements and developments along the line of our invention disclosed in our pending application filed August 10, 1916, Serial Number 114,091, and will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side-elevation, partly in section, illustrating a receptacle with the cap of our invention applied thereto, the parts being shownin their initial relation or prior to the hermetic sealing of the receptacle;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding view, partly broken away, illustrating the relation of the parts after the receptacle has been sealed;

F 1g. 3 is an enlarged section through one side portion of the cap and gasket and is presented to clearly illustrate the preferred form of gasket and the preferred manner of placing the same in the cap preparatory to the application .of thecap and gasket upon a receptacle;

Fig. 4 is a corresponding view of the same and a portion of the receptacle and illustrates the effect of the downward movement of the cap and gasket upon the receptacle, the gasket being by this action deformed and moved into the recess of the cap intended to receive it;

Fig. 5 is a view corresponding with Fig.

4, but illustrates the contraction of the cap and the distortion of the. gasket by the sealing action under pneumatic pressure;

Figs. 6 and 7 are views corresponding with Figs. 1 and 2 and serve to illustrate the invention when the gasket is I primarily placed within the annular recess of the cap in position to fill the same as distinguished from being placed therein inthe angular manner represented in Fig. 3;

Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional views, partly broken away and on an enlarged scale, of portions of the receptacle and closure shown on a reduced scale in Figs. 6 and 7, Fig. 8

illustrating the application of the cap and gasket to the receptacle; and Fig. 9 indicating the contraction of the cap and the deformation of the gasket under'the sealing by pneumatic pressure, and

Fig. 10 is a top view of the cap and receptacle shown in Fig. 6 and indicates by the dotted line 13-13 the section on which Fig. 6 is taken. I In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1 to '5 inclusive, 20 designates a tumbler, 21 the contents thereof, and 22 a cap or closure for said tumbler.

The cap is in one integral piece and of disk outline, and has a depending annular flange or skirt portion which, when the cap is to be applied to a receptacle having straight as distinguished from offset outer side walls, is preferably composed of an up per part 23, an intermediate part 24 and a lower part 25, the part 23 being offset outwardly from the plane of the part 25, and the part 24 being inclined downwardly and inwardly and connecting the parts 23, 25. The parts 23, 24 with the outer lower edge portions of the top of the cap form an annular groove or recess 26 within which is placed a sealing ring or gasket 27. The gasket is yielding and preferably of rubberlike material in the shape of a band normally having a fiat outer wall 28, a flat Wall 29 at its upper inner portion and a downwardly and outwardly beveled inner lower wall 30, and at its upper edge the gasket engages the lower surface of the inner outer portion of the top of the cap. When the gasket is first applied to the cap 22 it will take the angular position in which said gasket is shown in Fig. 3, and at this time the beveled portion 30 of the gasket will stand in the path of the upper outer edge of the tumbler or other receptacle 20; and when the cap containing the gasket is pressed downwardly upon a tumbler or other receptacle 20, said gasket will be compressed into the recess 26 and engage the parts 23, 24 of the cap, then taking the posi tion shown in Fig. 4, the inner wall of the gasket being substantially flattened against the side of the receptacle and the outer formerly straight Wall of the gasket taking the outline of the parts 23, 24 of the cap, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

In utilizing our invention, as disclosed in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, we first place the gasket Within the inner upper outer portions of the cap and then loosely place the cap over the tumbler and introduce the tumbler and cap into the vacuum-chamber of a vacuum sealing apparatus of any suitable construction, one illustration of such apparatus being disclosed in our aforesaid pending application filed August 10. 1916. Thereafter the air will be exhausted from the said tumbler and chamber, and then the cap will be pressed firmly down upon the tumbler, or to the position shown in Fig. 4, and thereupon atmospheric air will be admitted to said chamber to complete the sealing, the result being that the cap and gasket will be transformed from the condition in outer edge portions of the cap or closure have been drawn inwardly against the gasket and also preferably downwardly against the upper edge of the receptacle. The downward dishing of the top of the cap and the drawing inwardly of the upper outer edge portions of the cap result in the gasket being compressed Vertically and laterally and deformed by the pressure against it of the portions 23, 24 of the cap, the cap and gasket both losing their original outline and taking the outline represented in Fig. 5 in which it will be seen that the upper side portions of the cap have been materially convexed and that the part 25 of the cap has been drawn inwardly against the side of the receptacle, and also that the gasket throughout an extended sealing zone engages the upper side portions of the tumbler. e

The hermetic sealing of the receptacle with the use of our invention may be performed in various ways and in many wellknown forms of apparatus commonly designated as vacuum sealing machines and also as far sealing apparatus.

11 Figs. 6 and 8 we illustrate the same cap that is shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4:, but primarily place the gasket in the recess'26 of' the cap with its angular side within said recess and its flat side faced inwardly to engage the side of the tumbler. Fig. 3 illustrates the gasket as primarily turned inside out for application to the cap, while in Figs. 6 and 8 the gasket is shown as applied to the recess of the cap without having been prevlously turned inside-out. Since the gasket shown in F gs. 6 and 8 may be considered a modification of the gasket shown'in Fig. 3, we number the same 31, and the cap shown in Figs. 6 and 8 being the same as the cap shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the several parts of the same are numbered correspondingly with the like parts shown in said Figs. 1, 3 and 1. Under the hermetic sealing action the cap and gasket of Figs. 6 and 8 take the position and condition shown in Figs. 7 and 9 which are identical with Figs. 2 and 5 and serve to illustrate that although the gasket is primarily placed in one position, as in Fig. 3', and in 'a diflerent position, as in Fig. 8, the final sealing result is the same.

In the closures herein described, there is a sealing zone effected by the gasket, although a further effective sealing is preferablycaused'to take place by the contact of the material of the cap itself with the upper edge or rim of the receptacle, the effectiveness of this furthersealing being due to the nature and yielding character of the material of which the cap is preferably formed, it possessing characteristics which adapt it, during the sealing operation, to closely hug theedge of the mouthof the receptacle even tothe extent of yielding to the inequalities that-may exist in said edge. Pyroxy lin material possesses special characteristics adapting it, as we have discovered, to the hermetic sealing of receptacles by air pressure. We preferably use transparent celluloid for the caps so that the interior of the'receptacle may be easily inspected through the cap, and we preferably make use of very thin sheet celluloid in the production of the caps since we have found that thin celluloid sheets of from five to ten one-thousandths of an inch in thickness aflord better results than could be attained by an unduly thick sheet of celluloid such as might be used for the lid of a box.

Pyroxylin material is known by many names, but we recommend the use of what is commonly known as odorless celluloid for the production of the caps, this being a kind is necessarily used in the sealing operation for, in many instances, the cooling of the hot contents of the receptacle will reduce the pressure within the receptacle sufficiently to enable the preponderance of atmosphericpressure outside to maintain an effective seal and the distortion of the cap in the sealing operation may be produced by such preponderance of pressure alone, or by mechanical means alone, or-by the two together.

Also, while we have illustrated and de scribed our invention as. applied to the sealing of a tumbler and have described the dishing of the cap as being caused by atmospheric pressure alone, the invention is, obviously, not limited in those respects. Also it is obvious that mechanical pressure -,may be employed to assist the air pressure in dishing the cap while being applied to the receptacle. I

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top-portion and a depending'edge flange, and a gasket within said flange adapted to engage the side surface of the receptacle about the. mouth thereof, said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against said flange, said flange having downwardly converging portions and the gasket having at least one straight side which before application of the closure to the receptacle lies facing outward and a beveled lower edge, and the edge portions of the cap being adapted on application of said cap to contract about said gasket.

2. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top-portion and a depending edge flange, and a gasket within said flange adapted to engage the side surface of the receptacle about the mouth thereof, said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against said flange, and said flange having downwardly converging portions and said gasket a beveled lower edge lying opposite the downwardly converging portion of said flange, and the edge portions of the cap being adapted on application of the cap to contract about said gasket.

3. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top-portion and a depending edge flange, having a contracted portion, and a gasket within said flange adapted to engage the side surface of the receptacle about the mouth thereof and being of greater thick' ness in its upper portion than its lower portion with its lower reduced portion lying opposite the contracted portion of the flange, said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against said flange, and the edge portions of the cap being adapted on application of the capto contract about said gasket.

4. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top portion and a depending edge flange, and a gasket within said flange adapted to engage the side surface of the receptacle about the mouth thereof and being of greater thickness in its upper portion than its lower portion, said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against said flange, and the edge portions of the cap, including said flange, being adapted on application of the cap to compress said gasket in 'an up wardly direction and bind the same laterally against said receptacle.

5. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor having a top-portion and a depending edge flange whose walls are offset in their upper part to lie off from the side of the receptacle and then converge inwardly and downwardly and then extend downwardly, and a gasket within the offset portion of said flange and having a reduced p =rtion lying opposite the inwardly and downwardly converging portion of the flange and adapted to be conformed thereto and to engage the side surface of the receptacle about the mouth thereof, said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the \gasket against said flange, and the edge portions of the cap, including the offset portion of said flange, being adapted on application of said top portion to distort said gasket and bind the same against the receptacle.

6. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top-portion and a depending edge flange whose walls are offset in their upper part to lie off from the side of the receptacle and then converge inwardly and downwardly; and a gasket within the offset portion of said flange having a reduced portion lying opposite said inwardly and downwardly extending portion of the flange and adapted to be conformed thereto and to engage the side surface of the receptacle about the mouth thereof, said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against said flange, cluding the offset portion of said flange, being adapted on application of said cap to compress said gasket in an upwardly direction and bind the same laterally against'the receptacle, said gasket being thereby thickened and the lower portion of said flange drawn laterally toward the receptacle.

7. In combination with the receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap of thin and the edge portions of the cap, in-

flexible sheet pyroxylin material, said cap having a depending skirt portion affording a seat for a gasket, and a gasket on said seat, said gasket being normally thicker in its upper portion than in'its lower portion, and said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lipthereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against said seat.

8. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefpr comprising a cap of thin flexible sheetpyroxylin material, said cap having a depending skirt portion comprising an upper part, a downwardly and inwardly converging intermediate part and a lower part, and affording an annular recess for a gasket, and a gasket in said recess having a downwardly inclined lower edge portion lying opposite said inwardly and downwardly converging portion of the flange, and said cap and receptacle such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat having will crowd the gasket against the having a depending lower part, and a against the lip thereof and the receptacle walls of said recess. I

9. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap of thin flexible sheet pyroxylin material, said cap having a depending skirt portion comprising an upper part, a downwardly and inwardly converging intermediate part and a lower part, and afiording an annular recess for a gasket, and a gasket adapted to said recess, normally having a downwardly inclined lower portion lying opposite the downwardly and inwardly converging portion of the flange and projecting in the path of the outer edge of the-receptacle to receive the closure, and said gasket being adapted when placed on a receptacle to be deformed into and fill said recess,'and said cap and receptacle having suchrelative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against the walls of said recess.

10. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap of thin flexible sheet pyroxylin material, said cap skirt portion comprisa downwardly and in intermediate part and a ording an annular recess for a gasket, and a gasket adapted to said recess, normally having one straight wall about the depth of said recess and a companion wall whose upper portion is flat and whose lower portion tapers downwardly, and said cap and receptacle having ing an upper part, wardly convergin such relative proportions that when the cap its' top will seat is applied onthe receptacle against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against the walls of said recess. I

,11. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top portion and a depending flange comprising an upper part, a downwardly and inintermediate part and a lower part, and a ording an annular recess and l gasket adapted to said recess normally having one straight wall about the depth of said recess and a companion wall whose upper'portion is flat and wardly convergin whose lower portiontapers downwardly and lies opposite the downwardly and inwardly converging part of the depending flange of the cap, said cap and receptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against the walls of said recess. i

12. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top portion and a depending flange comprising an upper part, a downwardly and inwardly converging intermediate part and a lower part, and cess for a gasket, and a gasket adapted-to said recess normally having a downwardly inclined lower portion lying opposite the inwardly converging portion of the flange to the cap and projecting in the path of the outer edge of the receptacle to receive the closure,-and said gasket being adapted when applied to a receptacle to be deformed into and fill said recess, ceptacle having such relative proportions that when the cap is applied on the receptacle its top will seat against the lip thereof and the receptacle will crowd the gasket against the walls of said recess.

13. In combination with a receptacle, a closure therefor comprising a cap having a top-portion and a said flange having downwardly converging portions to form a recess to receivea gasket, and a gasket within the recess of said flange adapted to engage the side surface of the receptacle about the mouth thereof, said gasket having on its surface facing the downwardly converging portion of the flange an inwardly beveled portion said flange being sure to the top of the cap to contract toward the side of the receptacle and deform and crowd said gasket against the side of the receptacle.

slgned at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 3rd day of July, A. D. 1917.

ALFRED INGRAM.

depending edge flange,

adapted on application of presaffording an annular reand said cap and re- 

